


A Perfect Moment

by verilymerrily



Category: Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson
Genre: Book 04: Rhythm of War Spoilers, F/M, Kaladin/Leshwi, Kaleshwi, Light Masochism, Post-Book 04: Rhythm of War, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:54:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28392723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verilymerrily/pseuds/verilymerrily
Summary: Kaladin and Leshwi engage in some friendly fighting on the Shattered Plains. Spoilers for "Rhythm of War", HERE BE ROMANCE. Kaleshwi.
Relationships: Kaladin & Leshwi (Stormlight Archive)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 28





	A Perfect Moment

**Author's Note:**

  * For [BrightWatcher](https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrightWatcher/gifts).



Kaladin darted through the sky, the wind of the Shattered Plains playing with his loose hair as he searched the chasms below. 

Where was she? He'd lost her a few turns ago but he was sure that she must-

Leshwi crashed into him from the right, tugging ferociously at his spear as Kaladin gasped for breath. He grunted; he was no match for her raw strength, so he instead Lashed himself to the ground, taking advantage of her body's weight, forcing them both to fall at a vertiginously fast speed right towards the chasms. She let go just before they hit the ground and Kaladin had a hard time changing his direction, avoiding a massive crash. 

Storms, that’d been _too close._

Leshwi smirked at him, patiently hovering above as he considered his options. Adjusting the spear in his hand, he dashed forward and flew past her at full speed, swirling and changing directions in an attempt to lure her into the chase; if he knew her well, she’d never let pass an opportunity to show her prowess at flying. 

Just as expected, Leshwi followed him closely behind, counteracting her lower speed with her superior maneuvers, and Kaladin made a conscious effort to keep his distance without getting too far away from her. He needed her in the exact right position for his next attack.

Plunging deep into the chasms, Kaladin flew through a narrow intersection, Lashing his spear so each end stuck against the rock walls. Behind him, Leshwi figured his plan a second too late, and when she tried to stop he used his spear to maneuver in a loop above her head, quickly calling back his spear to his hands to strike her from behind.

Leshwi turned in a split second, painfully hitting him on the ribs with the side of her lance before he could land his attack.

"You're getting sloppy, Stormblessed," she taunted him in accented Alethi, and Kaladin barely managed to rise above her before she hit him again. 

So, that hadn't gone as planned, but Kaladin used the slight advantage that his speed granted him to move further into the chasms. Hiding in place, he could sense Leshwi approaching and waited right until she turned around the corner to Lash the wall behind him, visualizing her robes stuck against the rock. She gasped angrily as her long, flowing robes attached themselves to the wall, and just before she could cut at the fabric with her lance, Kaladin grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back, holding her firmly.

He grinned at her, his face so close that he could distinguish the smallest details in her swirling skin pattern.

“You’re getting sloppy, Ancient One,” he taunted her. “You’ve seen me use this trick before.”

Humming to a quick rhythm, she elbowed him in a good old-fashioned way and flew off deeper into the chasms. Breathing heavily, Kaladin rose higher above and turned to look in all directions. Where was she hiding now?

Syl zipped in closer to him, landing on his shoulder. “You sure you don’t need help?”

“Can you see her?” he asked, still panting. 

Syl darted off above the chasms, and after a few seconds twirled around in circles. Kaladin hovered closer and soon enough Leshwi rose to the sky, glaring at him. He smirked at her; he knew how much she hated when he teamed up with Syl against her.

“You cheat, Stormblessed!” she called out to him. “I thought we’d agreed that you would _not_ use your spren in this fight.”

“I agreed not to use a Shardspear or a Shardplate, Leshwi,” he shrugged. “I didn’t say anything about accepting Syl’s valuable insight.”

She hummed loudly and dashed forward, lance first, engaging him in a ferocious fight that caught him off guard. Storms, she was _fast_ , and for a brief moment Kaladin thought that he might actually have pushed Leshwi too far. He sunk into the chasms, barely blocking Leshwi’s attacks, and in a desperate move he managed to push her with all his strength against the wall, his spear ramming through her shoulder.

He gasped in unison with her at the throbbing pain in his side; Leshwi’s lance had struck him right below his ribs.

They remained in silence for a few moments, breathing heavily and gazing into each other’s eyes, relaying on both Stormlight and Voidlight to keep them alive. Finally, she laughed in between spasms of pain, and he grinned widely, gritting his teeth as warm blood trailed down his side.

“Must it always end up like this, Kaladin?” Leshwi said, panting.

“Say it,” he teased her.

“I believe I can handle pain better than you, Windrunner,” she teased back.

“ _Say it_ , Leshwi.”

“Fine,” she hissed. “You’re _not_ getting sloppy.”

He withdrew his spear from her shoulder, making her shudder, and when she removed her lance--

“ _Ow!_ ” Kaladin bent over himself, his eyes shut against the intense pain. She patted him sympathetically on his shoulder and hovered away.

“I’m sorry about that.”

“That was _harsh_ ,” he complained, turning to look at her, cradling his wounded side as Stormlight healed him. “Is it me or are you beating me harder every time we spar?”

“You’ve removed yourself from battle, Kaladin,” she pointed, matter-of-factly. “ _Someone_ must make sure that you’re ready for a real fight.”

“I _told_ him you would take this seriously.” Turning into her girlish form, Syl landed softly on Leshwi’s extended palm, hands on her hips. “But he never _listens_ to me!”

“Sylphrena,” Leshwi nodded to her in reverence. “Has he been disrespectful to you again?”

“He refuses to call me Oh, Great and Beautiful One, so _yes_.”

“Then we shall beat him _harder_ so he learns to praise your divinity.” Leshwi eyed Kaladin menacingly and he let out a long sigh.

“There’s only so much pain we humans can endure, Leshwi, so try not breaking your toy.”

She smiled at his comment and turned her attention back to Syl, who sat down on her palm.

“I’ve been trying to remember as you asked,” Syl said apologetically, “and I think the name Riah _does_ sound familiar. But there’s so much I still don’t know about my previous life...”

“It’s all right, Ancient Daughter,” Leshwi reassured her. “She’s probably long gone.”

Making sure that his wound had completely healed, Kaladin followed Leshwi as she rose above the chasm until she settled herself in the plateau, hovering cross-legged just above the ground. The sun was already setting in the Shattered Plains, covering the fractured land with an ominous red tint, and Kaladin realized that this was probably the last time they'd be able to spar like this; he and Rlain had been sent eastward to rally the listeners for the final confrontation against Odium, and it was already time to transfer them all back to Urithiru.

Leshwi hummed softly as he approached, Syl zipping off to play with some cremlings.

“You know, this still intrigues me,” Kaladin said, sitting down next to her. “Did you bond a honorspren thousands of years ago?”

Leshwi averted her eyes and hummed softly to herself for a long while before answering. “I’ve always been able to soar into the skies, if that’s what you’re asking. But the bond between singers and spren was quite different to the bond of a Radiant. We were truly _friends_ and we shared this world in peace. Before the humans turned on us… before Odium…”

_Right_. Kaladin remained in silence for a while, taking in the impressive landscape of the Shattered Plains at sunset as he mused on Leshwi’s words. It was no wonder that she flew so spectacularly, he’d always thought that her grace and elegance came naturally to her, but the idea that spren, singers and humans once had coexisted harmoniously only renewed his animosity against their common enemy. 

He wondered...

“What happens if we win?” he asked softly. “If we destroy Odium, what happens to the Heavenly Ones? What happens to _you_?”

She smiled just slightly. “We die.”

He shuffled uncomfortably and opened his mouth to speak, but she gestured to him to remain silent. “Not immediately, of course, but in losing our connection to Odium, sooner or later we will run out of Voidlight. It is all right, though, as I already died long, long ago. 

"If I’m here fighting in every Return, Kaladin, it is because I believe in a world at peace for the singers. But every time my soul is brought back into the fight, a new singer is sacrificed so that I have access to a body. If we can put an end to this cycle of death, I will gladly fade into nothingness to preserve lives.”

Kaladin observed her quietly for a while. Leshwi had managed to avoid death throughout the recent battles, and though she currently inhabited a tall, muscular malen body, he marvelled at the small quirks and details that unmistakably belonged to _her_ ; long red-black hair, a fascinating swirling skin pattern, deep crimson eyes… These were the characteristic features that'd allowed him to recognize her _anywhere_ , no matter how many times she changed bodies.

When he spoke again, his voice was almost a whisper.

"I will miss our encounters, Leshwi. Without you, it just won’t be the same..."

She smiled and turned to look at him. "You never cease to amaze me, Kaladin Stormblessed. In all my Iifetimes, I had never met a human quite like you. If this shall be my final reincarnation, I should say that it was well worth it, for it has granted us the rare chance of crossing paths."

"So, this is it?" he asked, trying not to blush too hard at her words. "You really think this is the final battle?"

She nodded solemnly. "But first we _live_ , Kaladin. First, we fight."

He smiled at this; Leshwi's fierce determination was something to be admired, unbroken and unwavering throughout the millennia, and he’d come to realize that he had much in common with the singer who'd once roamed freely in the skies, her honorspren by her side.

Kaladin wished he could've met that version of Leshwi… or maybe he still could.

He stood up, hovering just above the ground and extending his hand to her.

"First of all," he said invitingly. "We fly."

She stared at his hand, an unreadable expression on her face, and Kaladin steeled himself for rejection. Though Leshwi’s rank and position within the Fused was very similar to his own, he couldn’t dismiss the fact that she was an ancient being of incredible experience and prowess, and he couldn’t help but feel a little bit like a farm boy asking a lighteyed noble for a dance.

Leshwi seemed to consider his offer, and after hesitating just briefly, she finally reached out and took his hand, rising higher into the sky until they were at eye level, far above the chasms. She hummed softly to one of her rhythms and smiled slyly.

“Treasure this moment, Stormblessed, for I am granting you a great honor right now.”

Kaladin chuckled softly. “As befits such a special human like myself, I should say.”

She eyed him sternly but he just smiled, and for the first time in a long, long time, all that mattered to Kaladin was the two of them, soaring into the sky. 

Syl zipped in, gleefully swirling and giggling around them, and Kaladin allowed himself to attract some of the windspren that form his impressive blue-white Shardplate. Leshwi observed the phenomenon with fascination, gingerly poking at his chest and marvelling at the way the windspren accommodated themselves to protect him. Stormfather, the sight of her! There was no doubt that she was of the winds, just as much as Kaladin was.

“This is a perfect moment, Leshwi,” he whispered softly, gently placing her hand against his beating heart. “I shall treasure it forever.”

She opened her eyes wide and Kaladin felt the sudden urge to to something very bold and very stupid.

He pulled her closer and kissed her.

The world around him vanished and there was only silence. Silence and the warm feeling of the last sun rays against his skin, the wind playing softly with his hair. His heart beating loudly in his chest. Leshwi in his arms.

She tensed and Kaladin prepared himself for a lance coming through his gut, but the attack never came as she relaxed into their kiss, humming softly to a pleasant, inviting rhythm that resonated all through his body. 

When they finally broke the kiss, she let out a shuddering sigh. Kaladin closed his eyes as he pressed his forehead against hers, recovering his bearings.

"I shall make you pay for this, human."

He opened his eyes and stared at her, and though her ruby eyes were intently focused on him, there was no real threat in her voice, her soft rhythm still making them vibrate in unison.

Kaladin smiled and let go of her, drifting apart as he readied his spear in his hand.

"I am counting on that," he said, winking at her as he pointed his spear at her in challenge. Leshwi gave him a predatory smile in return, her lance ready as she dashed toward him.

Yes, she would _definitely_ make him pay _,_ he thought, as they both clashed far above in the evening sky. 

And he was _so_ looking forward to that.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is dedicated to BrightWatcher, who promised to be eternally grateful if I wrote more for this pairing :) Actually, I thought I was already done with Kaleshwi for the time being, but at that comment this story just popped up in my mind, so here it is.  
> I think it's really interesting that Branderson put Leshwi in a malen body, perhaps it was an attempt to stop any possible pairing between her an Kaladin? As if that could stop us shippers, ha!  
> Also, I think our boy Kaladin might be into a bit of physical pain o.o  
> Anyway, thanks for reading! :)


End file.
